Horne Trying To Find His Heater Again

Chris Barrows

06/27/2008

When Alan Horne began the 2008 season in Scranton Wilkes-Barre, there were high hopes for the touted prospect. Following his 12-4 campaign in Trenton in 2007, many within the organization were excited to see how Horne would handle the next step. Unfortunately an injury quickly put Horne on the shelf for two months after only two starts in April and now he's trying to rediscover his stuff.

"It's very frustrating," Alan Horne said of his four starts since his return from the disabled list. "I was throwing the ball well early. Every time you have an injury or setback, it's going to frustrate everyone. Where I'm at, this close to the big leagues, it's tough."

Following his second straight loss on June 24th, Horne spoke about how the injury has affected him since his return. While the injury has been frustrating for the pitcher, he is not using it as an excuse for recent results.

"I should be able to beat guys with it. I battled as long as I could tonight [June 24th] utilizing my curveball and sliders."

Horne does not believe his mechanics had any impact on his initial injury. Since returning, he has not made any major changes to his mechanics, but admitted there were some adjustments made recently.

"I don't really think it was a mechanical issue as for why the injury occurred," he opined. "We're always tinkering and playing. That's part of the process. Tinker with this; get more leverage with this pitch. I haven't changed a lot.

"I changed my position on the rubber a little bit. It helps take advantage of the both my fastballs. The movement on my fastball is a big part of my game."

The majority of the 25 year-old's problems has come with, surprisingly, his fastball. Normally the bread and butter for Alan Horne, he has been unable to control the pitch since his return.

His velocity is down on the pitch a little as well, though Horne was not aware of where's it currently stands. As for the source of his control struggles, he isn't sure what's causing the issue.

"I'm just struggling with it right now," he said bluntly. "I don't know if it's an arm strength issue. The ball might be running a little bit more because I'm not throwing it as hard. Whether I'm overthrowing or too lax, it's something I'll continue to work on and get ironed out here."

Despite Horne's recent frustrations, he's taken many positives out of his outings as well. For one, he's been able to push late sixth inning in three of his last four starts.

Even with his struggles, he was happy that he was able to keep his team in the game every time out. Horne also saw positives in the production he's received out of his offspeed pitches.

"My curveball has been great," he said. "My last two starts it's been coming around. My slider has been good as well. My changeup I haven't thrown much, but it's been good all year. It's just weird when you can't throw your fastball."

If Horne can turn around and regain his fastball control, he believes he will be able to find the groove that he found coming out of Spring Training.

"I'm still trying to find, searching to find that groove that was so good coming out of Spring Training," said Horne. "I thought I was throwing the ball there near the end [of rehab]."

With the success Horne has found with his off-peed pitches, Horne's season should take a turn once he regains his velocity and control on his fastball. Once he's done that, Horne should be back on track and on the path towards New York once again.

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\r\n \r\n\r\n\"It's very frustrating,\" Alan Horne said of his four starts since his return from the disabled list. \"I was throwing the ball well early. Every time you have an injury or setback, it's going to frustrate everyone. Where I'm at, this close to the big leagues, it's tough.\"\r\n\r\nFollowing his second straight loss on June 24th, Horne spoke about how the injury has affected him since his return. While the injury has been frustrating for the pitcher, he is not using it as an excuse for recent results.\r\n\r\n\"I've been Inconsistent,\" he admitted. \"I'm more consistent throwing offspeed pitches than my fastball. I know my fastball speed is down.\r\n\r\n\"I should be able to beat guys with it. I battled as long as I could tonight [June 24th] utilizing my curveball and sliders.\"\r\n\r\nHorne does not believe his mechanics had any impact on his initial injury. Since returning, he has not made any major changes to his mechanics, but admitted there were some adjustments made recently.\r\n\r\n\"I don't really think it was a mechanical issue as for why the injury occurred,\" he opined. \"We're always tinkering and playing. That's part of the process. Tinker with this; get more leverage with this pitch. I haven't changed a lot.\r\n\r\n\"I changed my position on the rubber a little bit. It helps take advantage of the both my fastballs. The movement on my fastball is a big part of my game.\"\r\n\r\nThe majority of the 25 year-old's problems has come with, surprisingly, his fastball. Normally the bread and butter for Alan Horne, he has been unable to control the pitch since his return.\r\n\r\nHis velocity is down on the pitch a little as well, though Horne was not aware of where's it currently stands. As for the source of his control struggles, he isn't sure what's causing the issue.\r\n\r\n\"I'm just struggling with it right now,\" he said bluntly. \"I don't know if it's an arm strength issue. The ball might be running a little bit more because I'm not throwing it as hard. Whether I'm overthrowing or too lax, it's something I'll continue to work on and get ironed out here.\"\r\n\r\nDespite Horne's recent frustrations, he's taken many positives out of his outings as well. For one, he's been able to push late sixth inning in three of his last four starts.\r\n\r\nEven with his struggles, he was happy that he was able to keep his team in the game every time out. Horne also saw positives in the production he's received out of his offspeed pitches.\r\n\r\n\"My curveball has been great,\" he said. \"My last two starts it's been coming around. My slider has been good as well. My changeup I haven't thrown much, but it's been good all year. It's just weird when you can't throw your fastball.\"\r\n\r\nIf Horne can turn around and regain his fastball control, he believes he will be able to find the groove that he found coming out of Spring Training.\r\n\r\n\"I'm still trying to find, searching to find that groove that was so good coming out of Spring Training,\" said Horne. \"I thought I was throwing the ball there near the end [of rehab].\"\r\n\r\nWith the success Horne has found with his off-peed pitches, Horne's season should take a turn once he regains his velocity and control on his fastball. Once he's done that, Horne should be back on track and on the path towards New York once again.\r\n\r\n

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